Slide-on rf connector

ABSTRACT

A slide-on connector including a plug and jack for electrically connecting the ends of two radio frequency coaxial cables to minimize radio frequency (RF) current leakage when fully butted and slightly unbutted.

United States Patent [191 Winn [451 Aug. 6, 1974 1 SLIDE-0N RF CONNECTOR[75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Phelps Dodge Industries, Inc., New

York, NY.

[22] Filed: Dec. 6, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 312,687

Donald J. Winn, New Haven, Conn.

[52] US. Cl 339/177 R [51] Int. Cl H01r 17/06 [58] Field of Search 24/106-108,

24/213, 208 A, 216 R, 216 B, 216 CS; 339/177, 252, 256, 258

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 439,696 11/1890 Shipman24/216 1,078,763 11/1913 Andersen 339/177 R X 9/1948 Johannesen 339/177R X 2,719,279 9/1955 Muckler 339/177 E 3,323,098 5/1967 OKeefe et a1.339/177 R FQREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 392,088 7/1908 France 24/108226,792 4/ 1 963 Austria Primary ExaminerBobby R. Gay

Assistant Examiner--Lawrence .1. Staab Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Davis,l-loxie, Faithfull & Hapgood [57] ABSTRACT A slide-on connectorincluding a plug and jack for electrically connecting the ends of tworadio frequency coaxial cables to minimize radio frequency (RF) currentleakage when fully butted and slightly unbutted.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SLIDE-N RF CONNECTOR The present inventionrelates to coaxial cable connectors, and more particularly to slide-onRF connectors which shield against radio frequency current leakage.

Various RF connectors are known in the art. These known connectorsgenerally require that the mating elements be fully butted to obtain thedesired electrical performance. However, even when fully butted, thesemating elements are often loose fitting resulting in several paths forRF current leakage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a slide-on RFconnector which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art connectorsand provides high electrical performance.

It is a further object to provide a slide-onRF connector which minimizesRF current leakage when the mating elements are fully butted andslightly unbutted.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a slide-on RFconnector whose mating elements are tight fitting, even when slightlyunbutted, to minimize RF current leakage.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a slide-on RFconnector whose mating elements are capable of rapid and positiveconnection.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide aslide-on RF connector suitable for printed circuit and computerapplications.

Other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will bemore apparent when the detailed description is considered with thedrawing.

' Briefly, the connector of the present invention in cludes a jackhaving a bore extending therethrough, the jack is mounted on one end ofa first coaxial cable and electrically coupled to the outer conductor,the free end of the jack is slightly divergent and slotted, a plughaving a bore extending therethrough is mounted on one end of a secondcoaxial cable and electrically coupled to the outer conductor, the freeend of the plug is slotted, flared, and crimped to receive and retainthe jack, the diameter of the plug bore is slightly less than thediameter of the divergent slotted end of the jack for tight-fitting ofthe jack within the bore of the plug, the plug includes a stop surfaceformed by reduced diameter portion against which the free end of thejack abuts in a fully mated position, the jack and plug maintain highelectrical performance characteristics even when the jack and plug areslightly unmated, and means within the plug and jack for electricallycoupling the inner conductors of the two coaxial cables.

The present invention is illustrated with the following drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the jack, female contact and jackinsulator coupled to a first coaxial cable end;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the jack, female contact and jack insulator ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the plug, male contact and plug insulatorcoupled to a second coaxial cable end;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the plug, male contact and plug insulator ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the jack and plug assembled in a fullybutted position; and

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the jack and plug assembled in aslightly unbutted position.

Referring to FIG. 1, a generally cylindrical hollow jack 10 is mountedat the end of a first coaxial cable 12 and electrically coupled to theouter conductor 14 with solder 15. (When using flexible RF cables thejack 10 may be crimped or clamped to the cable.) The hollow jack 10includes an axial bore 18 to receive the cable 12 with a reduceddiameter portion or flange 20 which abuts against the end 22 of theouter conductor 14 of the cable 12. Axially aligned with the bore 18 andextending from the reduced diameter portion 20 to the uncoupled or freeend 24 of the jack 10 is an enlarged bore portion 26. A cylindrical jackinsulator 28 is dimensioned to snugly fit within the enlarged boreportion 26. The jack insulator 28 includes a central conductor or femalecontact 30 surrounded by an insulating cylinder 32. The female contact30 includes two end receptacles 34 and 36. Receptacle 34 receives theinner conductor 37 of the cable 12 and is soldered thereto at 33. Thecable 12 is then inserted into the jack 10 so that the female contact 37is positioned within the enlarged bore portion 26 of the jack 10. Theinsulating cylinder 32 is then positioned over the fe male contact 37within enlarged bore portion 26.

The free end 24 of the jack 10 diverges slightly from the remainder ofthe jack l0 and includes a plurality of equally spaced slots 38, six asshown in FIG. 2, forming a plurality of slightly divergent tines 39 atthe free end 24. The tines 39 extend from the free end 24 and terminateat a point intermediate the free end 24 and the coupled end 35.

Referring to FIG. 3, a generally cylindrical hollow plug 40 is mountedon the end of a second coaxial cable 42 and electrically coupled to theouter conductor 44 with solder 46. (When using flexible RF cables theplug 40 may be crimped or clamped to the cable.) The hollow plug 40includes an axial bore 50 to receive the cable 42 with a reduceddiameter portion or flange 52 which abuts against the end 54 of theouter conductor 44 of the cable 42. Axially aligned with the bore 50 andextending from the reduced diameter portion 52 to the uncoupled or freeend 55 of the plug 40 is an enlarged bore portion 56. The enlarged boreportion 56 is in the shape of a stepped cylinder having a flange orannular stop 58 against which the free end 24 of the jack 10 abuts whenthe jack 10 and plug 40 are in a fully butted position, see FIG. 5.

A cylindrical plug insulator 60 is dimensioned to snugly fit within thesmaller diameter portion 61 of the enlarged bore portion 56. The pluginsulator 60 includes a central conductor or male contact 62 surroundedby an insulating cylinder 64. The male contact 62 includes an endreceptacle 66 to receive the inner conductor 68 of the cable 42 and issoldered thereto at 67. The cable 42 is then inserted into the plug 40so that the male contact 62 is positioned within the smaller diameterportion 61 of the enlarged bore portion 56 of the plug 40. Theinsulating cylinder 64 is then positioned over the male contact 62within the smaller diameter portion 56 of the enlarged bore portion 56of the plug 40. The male contact 62 includes at its opposite end, a pinmember 69 which is received in receptacle 36 of the female contact 30when the jack l0 and plug 40 are assembled.

The free end 55 of the plug 40 is flared outwardly to facilitatereception of the jack l0 and has a plurality of slots 70, six as shownin FIG. 4, forming a plurality of tines 74 at the free end 55. The tines74 extend from the free end 55 and terminate at a point intermediate thefree end 55 and the coupled end 72. The non-flared or horizontal portion75 of the plug 40 adjacent the free end 55 is crimped slightly to firmlyretain the jack 10 within the plug 40 and increase the shielding effectagainst RF current leakage.

Referring to FIG. 5, the jack 10 and plug 40 are shown in a fully buttedposition with the free end 24 of the jack l abutting against the flange58 of the plug 40. The jack and plug 40 are tightly held in thisposition by the compressive action of the solid sidewall 76 of theenlarged bore portion 56 of the plug 40 against the divergent tines 39of the jack 10, which provides adequate grounding even when the jack 10and plug 40 are slightly unmated, and by the action of the crimpedportion 75 of the plug 40 (horizontal tine portion) against the sidewall78 of the enlarged bore portion 26 of the jack 10. The solid sidewall 76of the enlarged bore portion 56 of the plug 40 surrounds or overlies thefree end 24 of the jack 10 and extends beyond the point of terminationof the slots 38 and tines 39. The inner conductors 37 and 68 of thecables 12 and 42 are electrically connected through female contact 30and male contact 62. The outer conductors 14 and 44 of the cables 12 and42, respectively, are electrically connected through the jack l0 andplug 40.

Referring to FIG. 6, the jack l0 and plug 40 are shown tightly held in aslightly unmated assembled position with the free end 24 of the jack 10not abutting the flange 58 of the plug 40. The solid sidewall 76 of theenlarged bore portion 56 of the plug 40 surrounds or overlies the freeend 24 of the jack l0 and extends beyond the point of termination of thetines 39. The tines 39 of the jack l0 coact with the sidewall 76 of theplug 40 and the crimped portion 75 of the plug 40 coacts against thesidewall 78 of the enlarged bore portion 26 of the jack 10 toeffectively shield against RF current leakage when the jack 10 and plug40 are slightly abutted.

The connector of the present invention has a characteristic impedance of500 and an RF current leakage of l20db minimum at 1 GHz. Tests on theconnector of the present invention indicate that a 1 GHz signal at alevel of l25db, with the jack 10 and plug 40 fully butted, showed nodeterioration when unmated up to .050 inch. Thus, the connector of thepresent invention is capable of maintaining its high electricalperformance when the jack 10 and plug 40 are unmated (includes an airgap) of up to about .050 inch.

The connector of the present invention provides a slide-on RF connectorin which the jack 10 and plug 40 are held tightly together to minimizeRF current leakage when fully butted and slightly unbutted. Theconnector of the present invention advantageously does not requirecomplete abutment to maintain high electrical performance, particularlyshielding against RF current leakage.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made in the present invention without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof as described in the specification anddefined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A connector for electrically coupling the ends of two RF coaxialcables, comprising:

a tubular conductive jack having one end for connection to the outerconductor of the first coaxial cable, a slightly diverging free endopposite the connecting end, the free end including a plurality ofaxially extending slots forming a plurality of resilient tines, and atubular intermediate section;

a tubular conductive plug for receiving said jack and having one end forconnection to the outer conductor of the second coaxial cable, a freeend opposite the connecting end, the free end including a plurality ofaxially extending slots forming a plurality of resilient tines, and atubular intermediate section;

the external diameter of the tubular intermediate section of the jackbeing substantially equal to the internal diameter of the tubularintermediate section of the plug;

the divergence of the free end of the jack being such that the circledescribed by the outermost ends of the resilient jack tines before thejack is received into the plug has a diameter larger than the internaldiameter of the tubular intermediate section of the p g;

a section of the plug tines spaced from the unattached ends of saidtines having an internal diameter before receipt of the jack smallerthan the external diameter of the tubular intermediate section of thejack;

the length of the axially extending slots in the plug and the jack beingsuch that the jack tines extend into the plug beyond the beginning ofthe plug lines and the plug tines extend along the outside of the jackbeyond the beginning of the jack tines when the jack is fully receivedby the plug; and

means within the plug and the jack for electrically connecting the innerconductors of the two coaxial cables when the jack is received by theplug.

2. The connector of claim 1 wherein the unattached ends of the plugtines are flared outwardly.

1. A connector for electrically coupling the ends of two RF coaxialcables, comprising: a tubular conductive jack having one end forconnection to the outer conductor of the first coaxial cable, a slightlydiverging free end opposite the connecting end, the free end including aplurality of axially extending slots forming a plurality of resilienttines, and a tubular intermediate section; a tubular conductive plug forreceiving said jack and having one end for connection to the outerconductor of the second coaxial cable, a free end opposite theconnecting end, the free end including a plurality of axially extendingslots forming a plurality of resilient tines, and a tubular intermediatesection; the external diameter of the tubular intermediate section ofthe jack being substantially equal to the internal diameter of thetubular intermediate section of the plug; the divergence of the free endof the jack being such that the circle described by the outermost endsof the resilient jack tines before the jack is received into the plughas a diameter larger than the internal diAmeter of the tubularintermediate section of the plug; a section of the plug tines spacedfrom the unattached ends of said tines having an internal diameterbefore receipt of the jack smaller than the external diameter of thetubular intermediate section of the jack; the length of the axiallyextending slots in the plug and the jack being such that the jack tinesextend into the plug beyond the beginning of the plug tines and the plugtines extend along the outside of the jack beyond the beginning of thejack tines when the jack is fully received by the plug; and means withinthe plug and the jack for electrically connecting the inner conductorsof the two coaxial cables when the jack is received by the plug.
 2. Theconnector of claim 1 wherein the unattached ends of the plug tines areflared outwardly.